Exercise Program

NNSA ensures that capabilities are in place to respond to any NNSA and Department of Energy facility emergency. It is also the nation's premier responder to any nuclear or radiological incident within the United States or abroad and provides operational planning and training to counter both domestic and international nuclear terrorism.

NNSA's Exercise Program includes the leading of exercise schedule development, exercise conduct, and documented exercise planning conferences; development and coordination of exercise design packages with a trusted agent from the site; and as needed, the provision of an Exercise Director, Controllers, and Evaluators; the conduct and documentation of exercise performance; an exercise “hot wash”; controller and evaluator critiques; and an After Action Report.

Part of the Office of Emergency Management and the Office of Emergency Management Implementation responsibilities are to review, participate in, and assess the field’s annual and other exercises as requested, including the No-Notice Exercises.

The purpose of the No Notice Exercise program is to evaluate the ability of NNSA and the Department of Energy to respond without prior notice to a simulated operational emergency, under conditions similar to those encountered during an actual emergency. The scope of the exercise is either a functional exercise or full scale exercise that would normally last 2-3 hours. The following are evaluated areas: